


Picking A College

by Cielestine_de_Winter



Category: teen wolf - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-04 14:56:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17900267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cielestine_de_Winter/pseuds/Cielestine_de_Winter
Summary: This is how Stiles decides where he goes to college.  Fluff.





	Picking A College

Fuck that hurt! Stiles thought, clamping down his scream.

“You are going to talk, boy,” the hunter who had been punching him growled.

“Oh, I’ll talk,” Stiles panted glibly. “I can talk for days, just ask anyone who knows me. Usually people are telling me to shut up.”

The hunter slammed his fist into Stiles’s already bruised body. Stiles gasped for breath as he felt some ribs breaking. He had been hanging by his bloody wrist since he had regained consciousness. He didn’t know how long he had been out, but he hoped that someone realized he was missing.

Not that that was likely, Stiles admitted to himself as he tuned out whatever the hunter was blathering to him. Derek was going through another ‘Stiles is just a squishy human and must be kept in the dark about everything’ phase again. And, once again, Derek’s failwolf decision bit Stiles royally in the ass.

If Derek had told him there were hostile hunters in town, Stiles would have been paying more attention. But no. Stiles was on the tenth day of being completely ignored by everyone who knew him. (With the exception of his father. Although to be fair, given the number of times Stiles ended up in the hospital, Stiles was almost shocked that his dad hadn’t written him off yet.). He also was struggling with a Chem teacher who hated him, 4 AP exams, a father determined to eat his way to a heart attack, and a best friend who was head over heels in love with someone who’s family had been actively trying to kill him.

So Stiles was preoccupied. Sue him.

Meathead the Hunter, as Stiles thought of him, looked at him with his small, piggish eyes flashing in rage. Stiles quickly rewound the conversation, trying to remember Meathead’s last words.

“Werewolves? Really? That’s what your asking me about?” Stiles scoffed. “What? Are you going to ask me about vampires and mummies next? Seriously, you and your friends have watched one too many episodes of Supernatural.”

Stiles almost passed out from the pain when Meathead swung his fist again. He vomited blood on his sweat stained tee shirt.

“Where are your friends?” Stiles asked after he got his breath back. “Did they get as tired of you as I am?”

Meathead raised his fist, but there was a loud crack and a massive black werewolf crashed through the door.

Derek! Stiles thought through the black spots that obscured his vision. The pain coursing through him left him dazed.

The sound of his name suddenly made him focus.

“Stiles,” Derek growled as he broke the heavy chains that had kept Stiles suspended above the ground. Stiles cried out in pain as he fell against Derek. “Stiles, open your eyes.”

Stiles forced his eyes open. “There are a dozen of them,” Stiles whispered. “They want you.”

“Scott and the others are taking care of them,” Derek soothed as he gently helped Stiles to his feet.

“Not quite,” another voice called out mockingly.

Derek and Stiles looked up and saw four of the hunters standing with their rifles pointed at Derek. The one who had spoken flashed a sick grin. “The others are what you’d call ‘cannon fodder’. There’s a bounty on your head, Derek Hale. And we’re looking to collect.”

“The hunter who placed the bounty is dead,” Stiles snarled through his agony. “Gerald Argent died three years ago, and his son and granddaughter will not honor the bounty.”

The hunters looked slightly less sure of themselves. “Well,” one of the spat. “I figure killing a Hale is always a good thing.”

“You can’t kill Derek. It’s against the Code,” Stiles said shaking his head. At the hunter’s unrepentant faces Stiles rolled his eyes. “Don’t any of you fuckers follow the Code?”

The hunters’ answer came in the form of bullets that Derek’s body shielded Stiles as best as he could. Stiles’s eyes widened as Derek met his. In that second, Stiles saw the regret and loneliness in Derek’s pleading eyes. “Stiles.” Derek whispered as another bullet pierced his shoulder.

Stiles’s heart fluttered as a bullet blew through Derek and hit Stiles’s neck. Derek fell against Stiles and Stiles’s head slammed against the cold concrete floor. Stiles felt a surge of helplessness wash over him as his conciseness started to fade. No! Stiles screamed in his mind before blacking out.

  
  


Stiles’s eyes flickered open slowly. He stared blankly at the vaguely familiar ceiling. The hospital. Great. Suddenly, there was movement to this left. Stiles turned to see Derek leaning forward. “Stiles.”

Stiles tried to smile, but realized his mouth was dusty dry. Derek must have understood Stiles’s expression, because he reached over and brought a large cup with a straw to Stiles’s lip. Stiles gratefully sipped the water. “What happened?” Stiles asked between sips.

“What do you remember?” Derek countered.

“The hunters. The guns.” Stiles whispered lightly.

“Do you remember shouting ‘No’ and setting the hunters on fire?” Derek asked in an equally light tone.

Stiles gaped at Derek. “What?”

“Congratulations, Stiles,” Derek sighed. At Stiles’s blank expression Derek continued. “Magic. You have magic. Or are magic. Or something like that. Deaton’s being mysterious.”

“I can’t have magic. I’m the normal one,” Stiles objected.

“I doubt you’ve ever been normal,” Derek snorted.

Stiles blinked. He took another look at Derek. Derek looked wrecked. He was acting… almost punch drunk. “You okay?” Stiles asked.

Derek rubbed his eyes with his hands. “You’ve been asleep for two weeks, Stiles. The only reason the others aren’t here is because Melissa and I were worried they’d start hallucinating from lack of sleep and decent food. She slipped your dad something to knock him out. He’s sleeping for the first time in days next door.”

Stiles went to sit up, but his head swam. Derek put a hand on Stiles’s shoulder and eased him back down. “Easy. How do you feel?”

Stiles focused on himself. “Fine,” Stiles said frowning. Even if he had been asleep for two weeks, he was pretty sure he should feel worse then he did. “I actually feel pretty good.”

“After you lit the hunters on fire you healed yourself and somehow neutralized the wolfbane bullets in me,” Derek said evenly.

“Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad,” Stiles said trying to get a handle on what Derek was saying.

“Did you miss the part where you’ve been sleeping for 2 weeks?” Derek asked, his eyebrows coming together. “Deaton wants to train you.”

Stiles wrinkled his nose. “What do you think?”

Derek sat back in his chair. “If you have a tenth of the power he thinks you have, you’ll need a teacher…”

“But I don’t trust him,” Stiles said bluntly.

“He was my mother’s emissary,” Derek reminded Stiles.

“Yea, how did that work out?” Stiles said without thinking.

Derek winced.

Stiles’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, that was a…”

“No, we’ve talked about this,” Derek sighed looking defeated. “You’re right. He must have had some fore knowledge of Kate’s plans.” He looked at Stiles. “But you need a teacher.”

“Yea,” Stiles stretched out his legs.

“I could put some feelers out with some of the other packs,” Derek suggested.

“I’m not leaving.”

“I didn’t say…”

“But you were thinking it. Loudly.” Stiles said accusingly.

“Stiles…”

“Don’t ‘Stiles’ me! Beacon Hills is just as much my home as it is yours. I’m not leaving you, the pack, or my father. Period.”

“You have to go to college,” Derek frowned, outraged that Stiles would even consider not going.

“I can take online classes,” Stiles shrugged.

“You’re not serious.”

“What’s it matter to you?”

Suddenly the door swung open. “Thank you Derek, for letting me know he was awake.” Melissa said with a sigh. She walked over to Stiles and started taking his vitals. “How’re you doing?”

Stiles look at Melissa with a fond smile. “I feel good.”

Melissa listened to his heart for a few moments then looked at him with an appeasing look. “John’s sedative should wear off in a half hour. Why don’t you ask Derek to bring you something from the diner so the three of you can have lunch together?”

“You’re not going to let me go home?” Stiles frowned.

Melissa snorted. “Stiles, you’re been in a coma for 2 weeks. You can bet your XBox that we’re not going to let you out until we’ve done every test we can on you, just to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m fine,” Stiles argued.

“And I’d care more for your opinion if you had a medical degree to back it,” She said bluntly.

Stiles chewed on his bottom lip, obviously worrying.

Melissa rolled her eyes and pulled him into a tight hung. “We’re keeping everything in house, under the wire. You won’t have to worry about it hitting your insurance.”

Stiles face cleared and he hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”

Melissa kissed his cheek and stepped back. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Stiles said with a grateful smile.

Melissa looked at Derek with an appraising look. “I’d volunteer to pick up lunch, but I still have 5 hours to my shift.”

“No, it’s fine,” Derek said awkwardly. “I just don’t want to leave him alone.”

Melissa’s smile grew as she looked from Derek to Stiles. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“I’m sitting right here,” Stiles complained. “And I really am fine.”

Derek and Melissa both turned to him with looks that clearly disagreed with his assessment.

“Dr. Adury will be in shortly to see you,” Melissa put a hand on Derek’s arm as she spoke to Stiles. She turned to Derek and squeezed his arm gently. “You’ve been a saint Derek, but maybe when the kids get out of school, you should let a few of them watch him tonight. You could do with some sleep.” She let Derek’s arm go and walked out the door.

Derek stared at the floor for a minute.

“Would you really pick up some food for us? I am starving.” Stiles said finally.

Derek’s eyes snapped up and looked at him blankly.

“I know you’ve never actually been here before, but the food is really rank,” Stiles said waving is hands.

Derek turned back to the bed. “What can I bring you?”

  
  


“…and Allison and her dad took care of the hunters,” Scott was saying as he shoved pieces of beef jerky into his mouth.

“How did you know where to find me?” Stiles asked.

Scott shrugged and glanced up at the tv playing in the background. “I don’t really know. We were crazy looking for you and suddenly Derek stops dead and howls. He goes tearing off and we all follow him, thinking he’s gone feral, but when he lead us to you, well. I’m just glad he found you.”

Stiles grabbed his red jello and his spoon. “Weird.” He took a spoonful. “So me, magic. How crazy is that?”

Scott snorted. “Really? That’s how you’re going to bring it up?”

“Dude, I am so weirded out! How can I have magic?”

“I can’t tell if you’re being serious,” Scott said cocking his head.

“Of course I’m…” Stiles’s eyes widened. “Did you know I had magic?”

Scott look at Stiles as thought he thought he was crazy. “Of course you’ve had magic.”

“What?!”

“I thought this was just one of those things we don’t talk about.”

Stiles blinked a few times. “How did you know I was magic?”

“I can smell it on you,” Scott shrugged. “And before that, you always did magic around me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That thing you do. With computers.”

Stiles shook his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That thing where you can always find the right information. I heard Deaton and Derek talking about it like a year and a half ago. You always find the information you’re looking for. You always some how get your answer. I though all smart people were like that, but Lydia corrected me on that.” Scott said ruefully.

Stiles was staring at him. “What exactly did they say?”

“Lydia?”

“No, Deaton and Derek.”

“Deaton wanted to train you, but Derek told him not to.”

Stiles didn’t know if he should feel relieved or offended that Derek didn’t want him training with Deaton.

“Allison and her dad want to talk to you. When you’re feeling up to it.”

“What do they want to talk to me about?”

Scott shrugged. “They have a few people who might be able to help you get control of everything…. Just for a little while. Give you some time to really find a good teacher.”

“They don’t think I should go to Deaton?”

“According to Chris, Deaton is more of a Druid kind of magic user. You know, get your power from the earth kind of guy. Your magic is different than his. Chris and Allison think that since you’re magic is more information/ technology based, you should go to someone more…. Technologically savvy.”

“Oh.” Stiles frowned. “What do you think?”

Scott looked up at his friend and smiled. “I want you to stay here, in Beacon Hills for as long as you can stand to be here. If that means studying with Deaton and doing your own research, then I’m good with that.

Stiles lay back and looked at the ceiling. “So, what are the chances of the doctor’s letting me out any time soon?”

Scott laughed. “You’re a minor miracle. When you first came in the doctor’s were sure you were going to die on the table. I was freaked.”

Stiles snorted. “I’m fine.”

“You’re fine now. When you came in though… Derek was almost feral. It’s a good thing my mom was on shift. I’m pretty sure he would have exposed us if she hadn’t stopped him.”

“Wow,” Stiles said, slightly bothered by Scott admission. “That seems a little extreme.”

“I guess.” Scott studiously studied the weight watchers commercial. Stiles knew his best friend well enough to wait him out. “To be honest though I think I would do the same thing if my mate was hurt.”

“Your what?”

Scott glanced quickly at his friend then mumbled, “Let’s do this,” under his breath. He turned to Stiles. “Since we’re pretty much clearing the air right now, I think we need to talk about your and Derek’s relationship.”

“We don’t have a relationship.”

“Yea, why is that?”

Stiles blinked. “Uh, because he’s not gay?”

“Werewolves are pansexual. You know that. Next.”

“He doesn’t like me?”

“If by ‘doesn’t like you’ you mean wants to have your babies, then yea, you’re right. You guys are so into each other you practically speak your own language. Next.”

“He’s like 10 years older than I am.”

“9. You turned 18 weeks ago and you’ve just graduated from high school. Oh, by the way, because you didn’t take your exams, Lydia won valedictorian on a technicality.”

“What?”

“Yea, you were robbed. Lydia almost didn’t go to Europe because she was protesting on your behalf. The school superintendent basically told her you couldn’t be expected to take your exams and told her to drop it. You still placed second. Even if you had failed your exams you still would have beat out Danny.”

“Uh.”

“Getting back on topic though, so what if he’s older than you. Date for a few years while you’re in college and see where it takes you. Just because you’re his mate doesn’t mean you have to accept him. See what he’s like and if he’s not a complete douche bag, give him a chance.”

“You hate him!”

“Hated him. You have to admit, he was an asshole when we first met.”

Stiles laughed. “We all were.”

“He’s grown on me.” Scott tilted his head. “You know he bought houses in Philadelphia, Berkeley, and New Haven.”

Stiles started at him. Stiles’s top three college choices were UPenn, Berkeley, and Yale. He had a full ride to all three but hesitated to chose one because he didn’t want to leave the pack. “No,” Stiles’s said faintly. “I didn’t.”

“They were pretty nice. Isaac showed them to us a few weeks ago. Derek got all red and locked himself in his room, but we got a good laugh about it. He didn’t do that for any of the rest of us. It means something.”

“Maybe it doesn’t mean what you think it means. Maybe you’re wrong.”

“Then I’m wrong, you guys talk and laugh about it. Either way, you know.” Scott turned back to the tv.

Stiles stared at him for a few minutes. Waiting to see if Scott would turn to him and laugh, saying it was all a joke. But as the minutes lengthened, Stiles took out his phone and pulled up his contacts.

_“Sourwolf, Philly, Berkeley, or New Haven? Where would you rather live?”_

Derek’s reply came instantly, as though he had been waiting for Stiles’s text. _“Philadelphia. It’s close to New York, and you would love New York.”_

Stiles felt a flood of warmth through his system. _“Well, I guess I should send in my letter.”_

_“I’ll bring it by tomorrow.”_ Derek promised.

Stiles put his phone on his chest and grinned.

“Well, my work here is done,” Scott said sitting up. “And if you don’t make me best man at your wedding, I’m officially disowning you.”

Stiles laughed.


End file.
